Synthetic nano-sized crystalline calcium phosphate and method of production

ABSTRACT

Synthetic nano-sized crystalline calcium phosphate, particularly hydroxyapatite, having a specific surface area in the range of 150 m 2 /g to 300 m 2 /g, is described. The nano-sized crystalline calcium phosphate may be in the form of a powder or in the form of a coating on a surface. A method of producing a nano-sized crystalline calcium phosphate powder or coating is also described. The method comprises formation of a liquid crystalline phase in a water solution of calcium, phosphor and a surfactant, placing the phase in an ammonia atmosphere so that nano-sized crystals are formed, followed by either removal of the surfactant with a solvent and recovering the nano-sized crystals to obtain the powder, or diluting the ammonia-treated liquid crystalline phase with a hydrophobic organic solvent to create a microemulsion of the nano-sized crystals in water, dipping an oxide layer-coated surface of an object into the microemulsion, or alternatively saving the step of ammonia treatment of the liquid crystalline phase until after the dipping of the surface of an object into the microemulsion, followed by removal of the organic solvent and the surfactant from the surface to obtain the coating.

The present invention relates to synthetic crystalline calciumphosphate, in particular hydroxyapatite, with a specific surface area inthe range of 150 m²/g to 300 m²/g, and to a method of producing a powderor coating of nano-sized crystalline calcium phosphate, in particularhydroxyapatite.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There exists a vast flora of different biomaterials that can beimplanted in the body. These can be categorized according to their invivo activity as bioinert, resorbable or bioactive materials. Bioinertmaterials are in a sense seen as foreign objects when they come incontact with living tissue. The body encapsulates the object with thintissue and hence mechanically fixates the object within the body.Typical bioinert materials are ceramics, such as aluminium oxide andzirconium dioxide and different non-biodegradable polymers.Bioresorbable materials such as tricalcium phosphate, calcium sulfateand biodegradable polymers are used to replace damaged tissue. These areeventually dissolved and replaced by body tissue. Bioactive materialsinclude, for example, hydroxyapatite and some glass and glass-ceramicsand are characterized by their ability to initiate a biologicalresponse, leading to a chemical and biological binding to the livingtissue.

Osseointegration, meaning the integration of an implant for repairing orreplacement of hard tissues in a body and the surrounding biologicaltissue, i.e. bone, is decisive for the success of the implantationprocedure. A deficient osseointegration may lead to implant detachment.There are several methods to achieve good osseointegration, for examplea) implant design, such as the distance between the threads on dentalimplant screws (Wennerberg, A., et al., “Design And SurfaceCharacteristics Of 13 Commercially Available Oral Implant Systems,”International Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Implants, vol. 8, No. 6,pp. 622-623 (1993); Wennerberg A, Albrektsson T, Lausmaa J. Torque andhistomorphometric evaluation of c.p. titanium screws blasted with 25-and 75-microns-sized particles of A1203. J Biomed Mater Res 1996; 30:251-260, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,891 to Branemark, et al.), b) tuning ofthe implant surface topography (Larsson et al, “Implant element” U.S.Pat. No. 6,689,170), c) selecting the right surface chemistry (Ellingsenet al, “Process for treating a metallic surgical implant” U.S. Pat. No.5,571,188) (R. G. T. Geesink, Clin. Orthop. 261 (1990) 39-58; J. A.Jansen, et al., Mater. Res., 25 (1991) 973-989; T. W. Bauer, et al.,Bone Join Surg., 73A (1991) 1439-1452; Rashmir-Raven A M, Richardson DC, Aberman H M, DeYoung D J. The response of cancellous and corticalcanine bone to hydroxyapatite-coated and uncoated titanium rods. J ApplBiomater 1995; 6: 237-242.), either bioinert, resorbable or bioactive,and d) a combination of two or all three of a) to c). The driving forcefor studying osseointegration and its mechanisms is that the patientsreceiving implant surgery often have to experience a long healingperiod. Dental titanium implants, for example, typically require ahealing time of three to sixth months depending on the patient and thelocation in the mouth before external loading can be applied.

Hydroxyapatite, HA, Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆(OH)₂, is one of the major mineralcomponents in animal and human bodies, and it gives hardness andstrength to bone and teeth. In the body, HA exists as tiny crystals witha needle shaped structure (Lowenstam, H. A., and Weiner, S. Onbiomineralization, Oxford University Press, New York, 1989.). Theneedles are roughly 1-2 nm thick, 2-4 nm wide and 20-40 nm in length. HAis, for example, used in percutaneous devices, periodontal treatment,alveolar ridge augmentation, orthopedics, maxillofacial surgery,otolaryngology, and spinal surgery. (Hench (1991) J. Am. Cer. Soc.74:1487), but is most extensively used for orthopedic and dental implantapplications.

Unfortunately, due to low mechanical reliability, especially in a wetenvironment, HA cannot be used for heavy load-carrying applications byitself (Synthesis and characterization of nano-HA/PA66 composites MieHuang, Jianqing Feng, Jianxin Wang, Xingdong Zhang, Yubao Li, YonggangYan Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine 14 (2003)655-660). In the body HA is incorporated into another “softer” tissue,thus forming a composite. For example, the human tooth is made up of amixture of Collagen and HA, which makes it strong against cracking.Today, the most widespread use of synthetic hydroxyapatite is ascoatings of titanium implants. This is to enhance the bonding betweenthe implant and the surrounding tissue and to make the binding(osseointegration) as good and rapid as possible. In this applicationthe strength of the titanium together with the biocompatibility ofhydroxyapatite is utilized. Even if HA, according to studies, has abioactive effect, problems with the application of HA have beennumerous. Mostly the problems relate to the adhesion of the HA film onthe titanium dioxide surface. Poor adhesion results in detachment of theHA film from the implant, which in turn may lead to a total surgicalfailure. Also, problems with the HA crystallinity have been experienced,leading to dissolution of the film when presented to the living tissue(Wolke J. G. C, Groot K, Jansen J. A, “In vivo dissolution behaviour ofvarious RF magnetron sputtered Ca—P coatings”, J. Biomed. Mater. Res. 39(4): 524-530 Mar. 15 1998.).

In recent years, research achievements have lead to an increasedinterest in HA as a bioactive substance and to its use as a coating onimplants and other applications. Great efforts have been put into thedevelopment of new routes or modifications of old methods to producemore reliable products made of HA. One very promising approach is tomake hydroxyapatite in the form of nano-particles. This is because oftheir ability to sinter at low temperature, their higher specificsurface area and that they give stronger end products upon sintering.

Several techniques exist for the making of HA and similar materials inthe nano scale. These include controlled chemical precipitation were oneutilizes salt solutions of low concentration, vapor depositiontechniques (both chemical and physical), condensation from gas phase anddifferent templating techniques, both biological and synthetic. Amongsynthetic methods, surfactant self-assembly, especially microemulsionswhere the surfactants forms small water droplets which are used as microreactors for the purpose of making small particles of HA, have beensuccessfully applied (Susmita Bose et al., Chem. Mater. 2003 (15)4464-4469; Koumoulidis G C, Katsoulidis A P, Ladavos A K, Pomonis P J,Trapalis C C, Sdoukos A T, Vaimakis T C, Journal of Colloid andInterface Science 259 (2): 254-260 Mar. 15, 2003; Lim G K, Wang J, Ng SC, Gan L M Journal of Materials Chemistry, 9 (7): 1635-1639 July 1999).However, there are problems with the control of both size and morphologyas well as low yield of products. Thus, there is a need for a reliabletechnique for the production of morphologically pure syntheticnano-sized crystalline calcium phosphate, in particular hydroxyapatite.

There are various methods for applying HA films onto implant objects.For example: a) Thermal plasma spray. During the plasma spray processplasma is produced by letting an electric arc pass through a stream ofmixed gases. This results in partial melting of a HA feedstock, which inturn is hurled at a relatively high velocity hitting the outer surfaceof the object to be coated. This treatment gives rise to locally hightemperatures, hence affecting the HA crystallinity by giving otherpolymorphs as well as partial amorphous HA. This amorphous HA has atendency to dissolve in the body giving poorer osseointegration,Furthermore, the HA-layer is relatively thick (10 μm minimum), whichgives problems with regard to adhesion to the implant (Cheang, P.; Khor,K. A. Biomaterials 1996, 17, 537; Groot, K. d.; Geesink, R.; Klein, C.;Serekian, P. L. Biomedical. Mater. Res. 1987, 21, 1375; Story, B.;Burgess, A. Prosthetic implants coated with hydroxylapatite and processfor treating prosthetic implants plasma-sprayed with hydroxylapatite; S.Calcitek: USA, 1998; and Zyman, Z.; Weng, J.; Liu, X.; Zhang, X.; Ma, Z.Biomaterials 1993, 14, 225.). b) Sputtering methods, which arerelatively high in cost and non-practical due to their low effectiveness(Massaro C, Baker M A, Cosentino F, Ramires P A, Klose S, Milella E,Surface and biological evaluation of hydroxyapatite-based coatings ontitanium deposited by different techniques. Journal of BiomedicalMaterials Research, 58 (6): 651-657 Dec. 5, 2001). C) Electrochemicalmethods utilizing electrochemistry for growing crystals onto asubstrate. This technique has problems with gas formation, which maycrack and rupture the coating film. There are several other techniquesthat are described in the literature, but today only the plasma spraytechnique is used commercially. Problems utilizing these above describedand other not described techniques are plentiful, especially due to thatonly thick layers can be applied (several μm) leading to problems withadhesion to the substrate and problems with coating objects havingcomplicated shapes. Several of the used or tested techniques also createlocally high temperatures, giving amorphous HA instead of the wantedcrystalline apatite form. This asks for new coating methods for thedepositions of HA onto surfaces. One promising technique is theso-called dip-coating technique where the substrate is dipped into asolution consisting of a particle dispersion. There are several studiesmade on the use of this technique but problems with the making of asuitable sol has resulted in problems with adhesion to the substrate aswell as incoherent films.

SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides highly crystalline nano-sized apatites,especially hydroxyapatite in the form of a powder or in the form of acoating on a surface. A thin, clean and highly crystalline apatite, i.e.calcium phosphate, such as hydroxyapatite, coating can be applied ontoobjects, e.g. implants, by using a method of the invention which will bedetailed below.

The invention can be used for the forming of several products where theuse of small particles are of an advantage. Further, the inventionprovides a solution which easily can be deposited on surfaces of eithermetal or non-metal substrates. The nanoparticles present in the solutionadheres to the substrate electrostatically, and thus the substrateshould preferably have an oxide layer in order to maximize the adherenceto the surface. This leads to a surface consisting of a very thin layer(such as 150 nm or less) of crystalline apatite, which can be appliedirrespectively of substrate shapes. Further, the invention gives anapatite layer which can follow the surface roughness of the substrategiving the possibilities if combining surface structure andapatite-coating, which is of great importance in osseointegration.

According to materials science, upon sintering the strength of amaterial is increased with decreased particle size (reference: A. A.Griffith, “The phenomena of rupture and flow in solids”, Phil. Trans.Roy. Soc. London, Ser. A. 221-[4] 163-198 (1920-1921)). This will leadto higher strength materials when a powder of nano-sized calciumphosphate is sintered compared with materials made from conventional HA.This enables the making of high strength implants consisting entirely ofHA. Also, the small crystal size gives the possibility of making verythin layers of HA on the solid substrate. Further, hydroxyapatitenano-crystals in the form of a coating on a surface are advantageouswhen using them to increase the surface area of implants made of metalsor non-metal as well as giving a bioactive surface. This will result ina quicker and more controlled osseointegration.

The synthetic nano-sized crystals of hydroxyapatite of the inventionhave, to our knowledge, the highest specific surface area everpresented. They resemble the HA particles that are present in the livingbody, which make them highly suitable in the biomimicking of body tissuefor the making of body implants. Thus, the HA of the invention issuitable for being deposited on the surface of an implant giving it ahighly bioactive surface in order to stimulate the bone growth duringthe initial healing process. For example, the human tooth is made out ofnanoparticles consisting of HA embedded in a matrix of the proteinpolymer Collagen, which gives them the right mechanical strength andstability.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) image ofhydroxyapatite crystals of the invention. Scale bar=100 nm.

FIG. 2 shows a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) image of a metalsurface coated with hydroxyapatite of the invention. As can be seen fromthis picture, the hydroxyapatite layer of the invention follows thetopography of the metal surface. Scale bar=10 μm.”

FIG. 3 shows a SEM image of a hydroxyapatite layer of the invention on aglass surface. Scale bar=1 μm.

FIG. 4 shows an X-Ray diffractogram of a HA powder with a specificsurface area of 220 m²/g.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A first aspect of the invention is directed to synthetic nano-sizedcrystalline calcium phosphate with a specific surface area in the rangeof 150 m²/g to 300 m²/g, such as 180 m²/g to 280 m²/g as measured by theBET method (S. Brunauer, P. H. Emmet, E. Teller, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1938,60, 309-319).

The crystals have an average particle size of 1-10 nm, such as 2-10 nm,and preferably 1-5 nm in diameter, and 20-40 in length, which can beestimated from the TEM image shown in FIG. 1.

In a preferred embodiment of the synthetic nano-sized crystallinecalcium phosphate of the invention, the calcium phosphate ishydroxyapatite.

In another embodiment the synthetic nano-sized crystalline calciumphosphate of the invention, the specific surface area is selected from180 m²/g, 220 m²/g and 280 m²/g,

The synthetic nano-sized crystalline calcium phosphate according to theinvention may be in the form of a powder or in the form of a coating ona surface, e.g. a metal surface, such as a titanium surface.

In an embodiment of the synthetic nano-sized crystalline calciumphosphate in the form of a coating on a surface, the coating has athickness of less than or equal to 150 nm, such as less than or equal to100 nm.

In yet another embodiment of the synthetic nano-sized crystallinecalcium phosphate of the invention, the calcium to phosphor ratio is1.67.

A second aspect of the invention is directed to a method of producing apowder or coating of nano-sized crystalline calcium phosphate comprisingthe steps of

a) providing a solution of water and stoichiometric solved amounts of aphosphor precursor and of a calcium salt precursor,

b) adding a surfactant, and optionally a hydrophobic organic solvent, tothe solution of a) to create a liquid crystalline phase,

c) allowing the liquid crystalline phase to equilibrate, and

d) placing the equilibrated liquid crystalline phase in an ammoniaatmosphere to raise the pH so that nano-sized crystals of calciumphosphate are formed in the water domains of the liquid crystallinephase,

the steps a)-d) being performed at ambient temperature,

followed by

either

e1) removing the surfactant from the ammonia-treated liquid crystallinephase in d) with a solvent and

f1) filtering, washing and drying the nano-sized crystals of calciumphosphate to obtain the powder,

or

e2) diluting the ammonia-treated liquid crystalline phase in d) with ahydrophobic organic solvent to create a microemulsion of the nano-sizedcrystals of calcium phosphate in water,

f2) dipping an oxide layer-coated surface of an object into themicroemulsion of e2) to deposit the microemulsion onto the surface,

g2) evaporating the organic solvent from the surface of f2) to obtainthe coating of nano-sized crystalline calcium phosphate, and

h2) heating under inert atmosphere in order to remove the surfactant,

or alternatively

omitting step d) and

e3) diluting the liquid crystalline phase of c) with a hydrophobicorganic solvent to create a microemulsion,

f3) dipping an oxide layer-coated surface of an object into themicroemulsion of e3) to deposit the microemulsion onto the surface,

g3) evaporating the organic solvent from the surface of f3) to form theliquid crystalline phase, where the dissolved precursors are situated inthe water domains and

h3) placing the surface of g3) in an ammonia atmosphere to raise the pHso that nano-sized crystals of calcium phosphate are formed in the waterdomains of the liquid crystalline phase and are deposited on thesurface, followed by

i2) heating under inert atmosphere in order to remove the surfactant.

In an embodiment the stoichiometric solved amounts in a) arewater-solved amounts, but in some other embodiments where the phosphorprecursor is not water-soluble, e.g. triethyl phosphite or calciumpropionate, the solved amounts are tenside-solved or oil-solved,respectively.

In a presently preferred embodiment the surfactant in b) is a non-ionicsurfactant.

By the method of the invention, it is possible to produce nano-sizedcrystalline calcium phosphate having a specific surface in the range of50 m²/g to 300 m²/g, even though a presently preferred range is 150 m²/gto 300 m²/g.

In an embodiment of the method of the invention, the oxide layer-coatedsurface of f2) or f3) is a metal surface, such as a titanium surface.

In another embodiment, the object of f2) or f3) is a body implant, forexample a dental implant.

As in the first aspect of the invention, embodiments in the second,method, aspect of the invention comprise the calcium phosphate ashydroxyapatite, the phosphor precursor as phosphoric acid, the calciumsalt precursor as calcium nitrate, and the calcium to phosphor ratio as1.67.

Thus, the important Ca/P ratio, which in the body is in the order of1.67 can also be retained. The Ca/P ratio of 1.67 is the ratio ofnaturally occurring hydroxyapatite. However, other calcium phosphatecompounds can be produced according to the invention by altering theratio of the calcium and phosphor precursors, such as di-, tri- ortetracalcium phosphate.

Examples of the phosphor precursors include, in addition to phosphoricacid, phosphorous acid, hypophosphorous acid and phosphorous acidesters, such as triethyl phosphite.

Examples of the calcium salt precursor include, in addition to calciumnitrate, for example calcium chloride, calcium acetate, and calciumalkoxides such as calcium ethoxide

The synthetic nano-sized crystalline calcium phosphate, in particularhydroxyapatite, can be deposited on any surface of interest such as forexample metals, polymers and any other organic materials, ceramics andother inorganic materials, as long as they have an oxide-layer. Theobject or implant may be flat like, round, concentric or of any complexshape, and the surface can be either smooth or porous. Metals used asbody implants, such as titanium (which always has a titanium dioxidelayer present on the surface), stainless steel, molybdenum, zirconiumetc., can hence be bioactivated by the coating action described by thisinvention.

In order to get good adhesion to the substrate, the substrate surfaceshould be properly cleaned. This is to get rid of contaminants thatmight influence the binding. Several techniques can be utilized for thispurpose, both mechanical, such as blasting and polishing, and chemical,such as washing with organic solvents and water.

In order to control the crystal size as well as getting its desiredcrystallinity, i.e. its apatite structure, surfactant self-assembly hasbeen utilized in the method of the invention. Surfactants areamphiphilic molecules consisting of one or more hydrophilic part and oneor more hydrophobic part. The hydrophilic part means that it islyophilic towards water, i.e. is water loving, which also is referred toas the head is more or less water soluble. The hydrophobic part meansthat it is non-lyophilic towards water, i.e. not water loving, whichoften is referred to as the tail is not water soluble or less watersoluble than the hydrophilic part. Combinations of these different partsresult in molecules having one part soluble in water and one part notsoluble in water or less soluble in water. Different compositions existbetween these parts, and surfactants can be for example double headedwith one or more hydrophobic tail, or the opposite, a double tailedmolecule with one or more head. Further, surfactants are divided intodifferent groups depending on the type of head, i.e. ionic or non-ionic,the ionic being positive, negative, zwitterionic or amphoteric.Zwitterionic surfactants contain both a positive and a negative charge.Often the positive charge is invariably ammonium and the negative chargemay vary, but usually it is a carboxylate. If both the positive andnegative charge are dependent on the pH, they are referred to asamphoteric surfactants, which in a certain pH range is zwitterionic. Themost important feature of surfactants are their tendency to adsorb oninterfaces, for example the air-liquid interface, air-solid interfaceand liquid-solid interface. When the surfactants are free in the senseof not being in an aggregated form, they are called monomers or unimers.When increasing the unimer concentration they tend to aggregate and formsmall entities of aggregates, so-called micelles. This concentration iscalled the Critical Micelle Concentration and is often denoted as theCMC. This micelle formation can be viewed as an alternative toadsorption on an interface, hence reducing its free energy according tothe rules of thermodynamics. When using water as the solvent for themicellization, the CMC is reached at very low micelle concentrations. Itis not unusual with values of 1 mM and below. Increasing the surfactantconcentration further beyond the CMC the micelles starts to grow insize. At higher surfactant concentration the micelles reach the stagewhen they start to pack close to each other forming new, more viscous,structures, i.e. liquid crystalline phases. These entities are formed inwater or organic solvents or in mixtures of water and organic solvents.

Surfactant self-assembly in the form of liquid crystalline structuresexists in a range of different geometries. Examples of these geometriesare lamellar, hexagonal, reversed hexagonal and cubic. All of thesegeometries are possible to obtain with the present invention. Othersurfactant phases that exist are the so-called isotropic solutionphases, and examples of these are dilute and concentrated micellarsolutions, reversed micellar solutions, microemulsions and vesiclesolutions. The more highly concentrated systems, i.e. liquid crystallinephases, have a short-range disorder but some order at larger distances.This compared to ordinary crystals such as inorganic crystals that haveboth a long as well as a short-range order. These properties make theliquid crystals a rigid structure, but more liquid-like compared toordinary crystals. The typical size-ranges for these structures are inthe meso range, i.e. 2-50 nm.

The method of using liquid crystalline phases and their rich phasebehavior makes it a very promising route also for making porousmaterials (mesoporous), which would be interesting in the application ofreplacing damaged bone. The materials made utilizing the highlyconcentrated liquid crystalline phase have a specific surface area ofmore than 50 m²/g, such as 100 m²/g, preferably more 150 m²/g, e.g 200m²/g and most preferably 280 m²/g, which to our knowledge is the highestreported surface area for synthetic HA utilizing the conventional N₂adsorption method (It should be noted that Rudin et. al. (WO 02/02461)stated that they have made HA with a specific surface area of 920 m²/g.However, these values are not comparable to values obtained with thestandard N₂ adsorption method).

The surfactant used in the present invention as a structure directingagent for the formation of the crystalline apatite, e.g. HA, particles,may also function as a dispersing agent stabilizing the colloidalsuspension, and as wetting agent in case dispersion of the particlesonto an object is wanted. Suitable surfactants for the production ofnano-sized calcium phosphates are the non-ionic surfactants of the typeblock-poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(propyleneglycol)-block-poly(ethylene glycol). As mentioned above, there existseveral different lyotropic liquid crystalline structures or phases. Thetype of phase one will get depends on the surfactant, hydrophobic phase(if present), applied pressure, temperature, pH and concentrations, andit is possible to shift phase by changing one or more of theseparameters. This feature makes it possible to start with one specificsurfactant phase, carry out the desired reaction in that specificembedded environment, and change one or more parameters to convert intoanother phase. This other phase may have other properties wanted for theproduction procedure, which can be utilized in another further step. Bychanging parameters such as temperatures and surfactant concentrationsit is possible to produce the desired phase and by the inventionpresented nano-particles, and to shift to another phase more desirableas a stable suspension. Further, making these surfactant systems underknown conditions thermodynamically, systems can be achieved andretained. This means that the phase never will phase separate into itsown respective components even if it is stored for a long time. This isa desired property when it comes to practical issues such as product andproduction reproducibility.

The possibly used organic solvent may be selected from a large number ofdifferent solvents, and examples of solvents include butylacetate andp-xylene.

The invention will now be illustrated with reference to Examples and theDrawings, but it should be understood that the scope of the invention isnot limited to the disclosed details.

EXAMPLES Example 1 Production of Hydroxyapatite Powder

The powder is manufactured using a liquid crystalline phase. Such aphase is built-up of surfactants, water and optionally a hydrophobicphase that is an organic solvent. The surfactants that we have used areso-called block co-polymers of the structure PEG-PPG-PEG (blockpoly(ethylene glycol)-block poly(propylene glycol)-block poly(ethyleneglycol)). BASF manufactures this polymer series under the name Pluronic,but the chemical company Aldrich also sells almost identical blockco-polymers. We have managed to manufacture hydroxyapatite by fourdifferent recipes, given in percent by weight:

1) Reverse Hexagonal Phase

15% Water solution: H₂O, H₃PO₄ and Ca(NO₃)₂

35% butylacetate

50% Pluronic P123

2) Reverse Hexagonal Phase

15% Water solution: H₂O, H₃PO₄ and Ca(NO₃)₂

15% p-xylene

70% Pluronic L64

3) Cubic Phase

50% Water solution: H₂O, H₃PO₄ and Ca(NO₃)₂

50% Pluronic F127

4) Hexagonal Phase

30% Water solution: H₂O, H₃PO₄ and Ca(NO₃)₂

70% Pluronic F127

The liquid crystalline phase is allowed to equilibrate for some hoursbefore it is treated in an ammonia atmosphere. The ammonia precipitatesthe hydroxyapatite since the pH of the water domains is raised. In fourdays the reaction has ceased and the surfactant is removed with asolvent (e.g. ethanol or toluene). The hydroxyapatite is filtered,washed and air-dried. Due to the fact that the crystallization occurs inthe very small water domains that are present in the liquid crystallinephase (5-10 nm in diameter) the powder becomes extremely fine-grained.

As can be seen from the recipes, soluble concentrations of phosphoricacid and calcium nitrate are added to the aqueous phase. Therelationship between the calcium nitrate and the phosphoric acid hasalways been made such that the Ca/P ratio has been 1.67. Depending onwhich concentrations of calcium nitrate and phosphoric acid are addedthe size of the resulting hydroxyapatite crystals can be controlled. Wehave varied the concentrations of calcium nitrate and phosphoric acid(still with the Ca/P ratio of 1.67) and measured the following specificsurface areas:

Ca(NO₃)₂ * 4H₂O Specific surface area, m²/g 20 wt % 80 10 wt % 180  5 wt% 220 2.5 wt %  280

All specific surface areas mentioned in this text have been measuredwith nitrogen gas adsorption, more specifically with a ASAP 2010instrument from Micromeritics instruments.

Example 2 Production of a Coating on a Surface Method 1

The coating is obtained by diluting the ammonia treated liquidcrystalline phase with an organic solvent that has to be insoluble inwater. Instead of removing the surfactants and filter the powder as inExample 1, more of the water insoluble component is added to the liquidcrystalline phase. In such a way a so-called water-in-oil microemulsionis obtained, wherein the hydroxyapatite crystals exist in small waterdroplets in the solution, approximately 10 nm in diameter. The amount ofsolvent that is added is important in order to retain the microemulsion.If too much solvent is added the hydroxyapatite will precipitate andsediment. In the recipe with p-xylene and L64 we have added double theamount of p-xylene compared to the weight of the liquid crystallinephase in order to get a microemulsion:

15 g Aqueous solution

215 g p-xylene

70 g Pluronic L64

When a metal such as titanium is dipped into the solution, thehydroxyapatite will attach to the metal, together with the surfactantand the organic solvent. After the dipping, the sample is dried for halfan hour, so that the organic solvent evaporates. As the surfactantsubsequently is burned away at 550° C. in 5 minutes, only purehydroxyapatite remains. The hydroxyapatite will be completelycrystalline and moreover have a high specific surface area. With othermethods, such as plasma sputtering, a thick layer of partly amorphoushydroxyapatite is obtained together with a low specific surface. Ourheat-treatment is conducted in a so-called tube-type furnace, withnitrogen gas flowing past the sample and thereby preventing furtheroxidation of the titanium surface.

The above method of producing a HA coating can be described in short asfollows:

-   -   1. The liquid crystalline phase is produced and    -   2. it is placed in an ammonia atmosphere for 4 days.    -   3. The phase is diluted with a solvent to create a coating        solution.    -   4. The surface to be coated is dipped into the coating solution        and dried, so that the liquid liquid crystalline phase is        recreated at the surface    -   5. The surface is placed in a furnace under nitrogen gas for 5        minutes for removal of the surfactant

Example 3 Production of a Coating on a Surface Method 2

The coating is obtained by diluting the liquid crystalline phase, whichhas not been treated in an ammonia atmosphere, with an organic solventthat has to be insoluble in water. A water-in-oil microemulsion isobtained, but since the liquid crystalline phase has not been exposed toammonia, no hydroxyapatite crystals are present in the water droplets ofthe microemulsion. Instead these water droplets contain the calcium andphosphor precursors. The composition of the microemulsion is identicalto the one in example 2:

15 g Aqueous solution

215 g p-xylene

70 g Pluronic L64

The above method of producing a HA coating can be described in short asfollows:

-   -   1. The liquid crystalline phase is produced and    -   2. it is diluted with a solvent to create a coating solution.    -   3. The surface to be coated is dipped into the coating solution        and dried, so that the liquid crystalline phase is recreated at        the surface and    -   4. it is placed in an ammonia atmosphere for 20 minutes.    -   5. The surface is placed in a furnace under nitrogen gas for 5        minutes for removal of the surfactant.

The main difference between the two alternative methods of producing anano-crystalline coating on a surface is that in the latter case theliquid crystalline phase is not treated with ammonia for 4 days. Insteadthe surface is treated with ammonia after the dipping, the pH is raisedand HA is deposited on the surface. The final step of removing thesurfactants in a furnace is the same in both methods. The methods givethe same result, but the latter method is performed in a shorter time.

It is possible to coat other surfaces than metal surfaces withhydroxyapatite provided there is an oxide layer on the surface(otherwise the hydroxyapatite in the microemulsion will not attach tothe substrate satisfactorily) and that the material will withstandthermal treatment. Examples of materials amenable for coating with HAinclude metals such as stainless steel and titanium, and ceramics suchas zirconium oxide and ordinary glass.

1. A synthetic nano-sized crystalline calcium phosphate having aspecific surface area in the range of 50 m²/g to 300 m²/g, wherein thesynthetic nano-sized crystalline calcium phosphate is in the form of acoating on a surface, the coating having a thickness of less than orequal to 150 nm.
 2. The synthetic nano-sized crystalline calciumphosphate of claim 1, wherein the calcium phosphate coating consists ofhydroxyapatite.
 3. The synthetic nano-sized crystalline calciumphosphate of claim 1, wherein the specific surface area is selected fromthe group consisting of 180 m²/g, 220 m²/g and 280 m²/g.
 4. Thesynthetic nano-sized crystalline calcium phosphate of claim 1, whereinthe coating consists of calcium phosphate and the surface is a metalsurface.
 5. The synthetic nano-sized crystalline calcium phosphate ofclaim 1, wherein the coating has a thickness of less than or equal to100 nm.
 6. The synthetic nano-sized crystalline calcium phosphate ofclaim 1, wherein the synthetic nano-sized crystalline calcium phosphatehas a calcium to phosphor ratio of 1.67.
 7. The synthetic nano-sizedcrystalline calcium phosphate of claim 1 having a specific surface areain the range of 150 m²/g to 300 m²/g.
 8. The synthetic nano-sizedcrystalline calcium phosphate of claim 1 having a specific surface areain the range of 80 m²/g to 300 m²/g.
 9. The synthetic nano-sizedcrystalline calcium phosphate of claim 1 having a specific surface areain the range of 80 m²/g to 280 m²/g.
 10. The synthetic nano-sizedcrystalline calcium phosphate of claim 4, wherein the metal surface is atitanium surface.
 11. The synthetic nano-sized crystalline calciumphosphate of claim 2, wherein the specific surface area is selected fromthe group consisting of 180 m²/g, 220 m²/g and 280 m²/g and the surfaceis a metal surface.
 12. The synthetic nano-sized crystalline calciumphosphate of claim 2, wherein the specific surface area is selected fromthe group consisting of 180 m²/g, 220 m²/g and 280 m²/g and the surfaceis a metal oxide surface.
 13. The synthetic nano-sized crystallinecalcium phosphate of claim 2, wherein the specific surface area isselected from the group consisting of 180 m²/g, 220 m²/g and 280 m²/gand the metal is titanium.
 14. The synthetic nano-sized crystallinecalcium phosphate of claim 13, wherein the coating has a thickness ofless than or equal to 100 nm.
 15. A method of producing a coating of thesynthetic nano-sized crystalline calcium phosphate of claim 1,comprising the steps of: a) providing a solution of water andstoichiometric solved amounts of a phosphor precursor and of a calciumsalt precursor, b) adding a surfactant, and optionally a hydrophobicorganic solvent, to the solution of a) to create a liquid crystallinephase, c) allowing the liquid crystalline phase to equilibrate, and d)placing the equilibrated liquid crystalline phase in an ammoniaatmosphere to raise the pH so that nano-sized crystals of calciumphosphate are formed in the water domains of the liquid crystallinephase, the steps a)-d) being performed at ambient temperature followedby e1) diluting the ammonia-treated liquid crystalline phase of d) witha hydrophobic organic solvent to create a microemulsion of thenano-sized crystals of calcium phosphate in water, f1) dipping an oxidelayer-coated surface of an object into the microemulsion of e1) todeposit the microemulsion onto the surface, g1) evaporating the organicsolvent from the surface of f1) to obtain the coating of nano-sizedcrystalline calcium phosphate, and h1) heating under inert atmosphere inorder to remove the surfactant or alternatively omitting step d) and e2)diluting the liquid crystalline phase of c) with a hydrophobic organicsolvent to create a microemulsion, f2) dipping an oxide layer-coatedsurface of an object into the microemulsion of e2) to deposit themicroemulsion onto the surface, g2) evaporating the organic solvent fromthe surface of f2) to form a liquid crystalline phase, and h2) placingthe surface of g2) in an ammonia atmosphere to raise the pH so thatnano-sized crystals of calcium phosphate are formed in the water domainsof the liquid crystalline phase and are deposited on the surface,followed by i2) heating under inert atmosphere in order to remove thesurfactant.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the surfactant in b) isa non-ionic surfactant.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein the oxidelayer-coated surface of f1) and f2) is a metal surface.
 18. The methodof claim 15, wherein the object of f1) and f2) is a body implant. 19.The method of claim 15, wherein the calcium phosphate is hydroxyapatite.20. The method of claim 17, wherein the metal surface is a titaniumsurface.